World

News Briefs April 17, 2012

Officials investigate shooting at Arizona military base

Authorities are investigating a late-night shooting at Luke Air Force Base on the western edge of metropolitan Phoenix, Ariz.

A person involved in the shooting attempted to flee from the scene by ramming one of the base’s gates.

Base spokesman Lt. Ryan DeCamp says the shooting occurred around 10:30 p.m., April 15 in a housing area on the base’s eastern edge.

He declined to describe the circumstances that led up to the shooting, who was involved, whether any arrests were made or whether anyone was injured.

He says the shooting wasn’t terror-related and that business at the base resumed to normal April 16. AP

U.S., Filipino troops start drills near disputed sea

Nearly 7,000 American and Filipino troops began annual military exercises March 16 that will include combat drills near disputed South China Sea waters.

U.S. and Philippine officials stressed that China, which in the past has protested military exercises involving American forces near the contested region, was not an imaginary target in the drills.

They said the Balikatan – Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder – exercises would mostly focus on humanitarian missions and disaster preparedness but would also include combat maneuvers including the mock retaking of an oil rig supposedly seized by terrorists near the South China Sea.

Asked if China should be alarmed, U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Curtis Hill said in a news conference that the exercises would not focus on any nation as an adversary.

“There is no reason for anyone to feel threatened by us coming together, working through our inter-operabilities so we can better respond and help people across the region,” Hill said.

But the larger than usual American attendance at the high-profile event reflects U.S. efforts to reassert its presence in the Asia-Pacific region as a counterweight to China’s rise, a move that has rattled Beijing. AP

Local military discounts

Hundreds of new Russian aircraft, tanks and missiles are rolling off assembly lines. Russian jets roar through European skies under NATO’s wary eye. Tens of thousands of troops take part in war games showing off the military’s readiness for all-out war. The muscle flexing suggests that Russia’s economic woes so far are having no impact...

KIEV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s president announced plans Aug. 24 to boost his country’s defense spending by an estimated 50 percent as government forces seek to overpower pro-Russian separatists in the east. President Petro Poroshenko pledged to spend an extra 40 billion hryvnia ($3 billion) by 2017 during a speech marking Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet...

Iran unveiled a new generation of short-range marine missiles and aerial drones Aug. 24, as President Hassan Rouhani said its military doctrine was based on deterring and countering threats from unnamed foreign powers. The official IRNA news agency said the Ghadir missile, with a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles), is designed to destroy marine...

NATO is strengthening its military footprint along its eastern border immediately in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, the alliance’s chief said April 16. Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO’s air policing aircraft will fly more sorties over the Baltic region west of Ukraine, far from the tensions in the eastern part of the...

NOVO SELO, Bulgaria – Lt. Col. Valeria Parada had a challenge. She and her team were responsible for rescuing people caught up in a dangerous situation around the Black Sea and making sure they received whatever humanitarian assistance they needed. To do that, she first had to learn how to coordinate among the air, navy...

The Republic of Korea has formally selected the Lockheed Martin ) F-35 Lightning II aircraft for its F-X fighter acquisition program. “We are honored by and appreciate the trust and confidence the Republic of Korea has placed in the 5th Generation F-35 to meet its demanding security requirements. We look forward to supporting the discussions between...

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